GTS Rear Fascia Project

[FlashFyre]

I am mounting a GTS rear fascia to the wall in my garage and I need a bit of help to get the lights powered by the house electricity.

I am looking for a power supply that would supply about 150W. Needs to be a 12V DC transformer.

I estimate the required wattage to be about 80-100W. There are ten 3157 bulbs at 7W, 2 licence plate bulbs and the Sneaky Pete 3rd brake LED.

Does anyone know where I could find a DC transformer that would supply enough juice? Could a computer power supply work? I've also looked at battery chargers but am a bit clueless to which would have enough power.

I thought of going LEDs but the cost to get decent LEDs would be well over $100. I don't want to risk buying cheap LEDs of ebay.

Thanks in advance. Will post pics as soon as its mounted and lit.

[venomous08]

I am mounting a GTS rear fascia to the wall in my garage and I need a bit of help to get the lights powered by the house electricity.

I am looking for a power supply that would supply about 150W. Needs to be a 12V DC transformer.

I estimate the required wattage to be about 80-100W. There are ten 3157 bulbs at 7W, 2 licence plate bulbs and the Sneaky Pete 3rd brake LED.

Does anyone know where I could find a DC transformer that would supply enough juice? Could a computer power supply work? I've also looked at battery chargers but am a bit clueless to which would have enough power.

I thought of going LEDs but the cost to get decent LEDs would be well over $100. I don't want to risk buying cheap LEDs of ebay.

Thanks in advance. Will post pics as soon as its mounted and lit.

I have had good luck with the Puls power supplies. Very small and pretty stout for what I do. Din rail mounts so you can just attach to a small box on the underside.

Are you sure that you need that much? a Puls power supply that will handle that wattage is $416 that is up to 180W.

[FlashFyre]

I have had good luck with the Puls power supplies. Very small and pretty stout for what I do. Din rail mounts so you can just attach to a small box on the underside.

Are you sure that you need that much? a Puls power supply that will handle that wattage is $416 that is up to 180W.

Thanks. That sort of supply is definitely high tech and out of the budget I had in mind.

I plan on lighting the tail lights, reverse and signal lights. There are 10 bulbs which are 7-8 watts each. In addition the 3rd brake light and license plates lights will be illuminated. I've found an AC power supply that's 150w but am having trouble finding a DC one.

I did get the fascia lit dimly with my trickle charger. Just need something with more amps.

[SSGNRDZ_28]

Maybe try searching for "Acopian" on eBay, there may be a few options for you. There may be cheaper options on eBay as well.

[venomous08]

Thanks. That sort of supply is definitely high tech and out of the budget I had in mind.

I plan on lighting the tail lights, reverse and signal lights. There are 10 bulbs which are 7-8 watts each. In addition the 3rd brake light and license plates lights will be illuminated. I've found an AC power supply that's 150w but am having trouble finding a DC one.

I did get the fascia lit dimly with my trickle charger. Just need something with more amps.

Yeah unfortunately that high of duty and 12V output is going to be a little expensive.

[Black Adder]

Have you considered using LED's. It would reduce the power consumption big time. If you contune with the original bulbs and there is no other electrics, then you can use 12v AC and it will be OK.

[FlashFyre]

Have you considered using LED's. It would reduce the power consumption big time. If you contune with the original bulbs and there is no other electrics, then you can use 12v AC and it will be OK.

I did. The cost for LEDs are well over $10 each and they tend to make them brighter than the stock bulbs. I don't plan on running the lights for long periods at a time. I can't see it being on more than 10 hours a year.

Are you certain the bulbs will function correctly with an AC power supply? I thought all the of electronics were DC powered.

[Bugman Jeff]

Hit up Craigslist for a used computer power supply, they can usually be had pretty cheap. You could also convert everything to use standard night light bulbs.
http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/300/11/112f2cfb-47fe-4445-8278-5545382995a9_300.jpg

[FlashFyre]

Hit up Craigslist for a used computer power supply, they can usually be had pretty cheap. You could also convert everything to use standard night light bulbs.
http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/300/11/112f2cfb-47fe-4445-8278-5545382995a9_300.jpg

Thanks. I've heard of the computer power supply route and I think I may try that. Hopefully have it up and running in the next couple of days.

[FlashFyre]

I got the fascia lit kinda. The computer power supply keeps kicking off if I connect all of the lights at once. If I leave a couple of lights unplugged I can get the fascia lit and then plug in the 2 unplugged lights and everything is lit.

It almost seems that I need to get the power supply up to speed before putting on the entire load. Any ideas?

[SSGNRDZ_28]

The bulbs pull more current when cold so turning them all on at once is apparently beyond the rating of the power supply. You can either stagger turning them on as you've done or get another supply to help manage the inrush current.

[Bugman Jeff]

You could wire in a secondary switch next to the main switch, have your brake lights on the switch for example. It would make it pretty simple to stagger your power up.

[FlashFyre]

Yeah. I've got it all wired up with the 2nd switch and its working. I would remount it but its been too damn cold to go in the garage. I am hoping to have it up tomorrow or Sat. Will post pics then.

Thanks all for the suggestions.

[FlashFyre]

23622363

Pics don't do it justice. I will post more of the garage in the garage thread.

[Canadian venom]

That's very cool, where Did you find the rear fascia?

[FlashFyre]

Found off an ad on Kijijii. Guy used to work at Magna so he had a couple of them. I do have a grey one that that is brand new without any lights if you are interested in doing something similar.

[Canadian venom]

Pm sent